Characterization of macrophages and tnf-α in cleft affected lip tissue

Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by Riga Stradins University, Project 5-1/384/2020 “The complex research on the interrelation between tissue remodelling, tissue phenotype, and inflammation in most common craniofacial anomalies in Latvia”. Tissue samples were provided by Professor Ilze Akota. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Orofacial clefts are one of the most common congenital anomalies worldwide; however, morphopathogenesis of the clefts is not yet completely understood. Taking the importance of innate immunity into account, the aim of this work was to examine the appearance and distribution of macrophages (M) 1, M2, and TNF-α, as well as to deduce any possible intercorrelations between the three factors in cleft affected lip tissue samples. Twenty samples of soft tissue were collected from children during plastic surgery. Fourteen control tissue samples were obtained during labial frenectomy. Tissues were immunohistochemically stained, analysed by light microscopy using a semi-quantitative method, and the Mann–Whitney U and Spearman’s tests were used to evaluate statistical differences and correlations. A statistically significant difference in the distribution was observed only in regard to M1. A weak correlation was observed between M2 and TNF-α but a moderate one between M1 and M2 as well as M1 and TNF-α. However, only the correlation between M1 and M2 was statistically important. The rise in M1, alongside the positive correlation between M1 and TNF-α, suggested a more pro-inflammatory/inflammatory environment in the cleft affected lip tissue. The moderate positive correlation between M1 and M2 indicated an intensification of the protective mechanisms.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Niyi Osundare : The ‘Eco Elegist’ Echoes through his Elegies

The biggest enemy we face is anthropocentricism This is that common attitude that everything on this earth was put here for human use Eric Pianca Eminent Ecologist Ecological Society of America A poet dons many roles to ring in a change to bring in a transformation blows a clarion to call caution envisages a dream and battles for a better world Niyi Osundare the Nigerian poet activist fits into this bill perfectly His heart heaves heavy as he whines over the imbalance in the ecology imbued by the brutish and selfish humans He grieves over the loss of the green cover wails over the woods being cleared moans over the mountain ranges being razed to the ground and sheds tears on seeing the tear in the sky Osundare wears the mantle of the typical eco elegist who earnestly laments over the degradation deforestation and death of the ecology and human destiny thereafter Following the lines of traditional elegies Nyi Osundare begins his poems on a highly pessimistic note over how man pounds and plunders the earth for his selfish motives He imbues his lines with melancholic mood as he moans on seeing the morose unsightly sights around hi

Why don't adolescents finish the HPV vaccine series? A qualitative study of parents and providers

PURPOSE: To understand why adolescents who initiate the HPV vaccine series fail to complete all three shots. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were performed with parents/guardians of 11-17 year old daughters and pediatric primary care providers in one inner-city public clinic and three private practices to determine why girls who received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine did or did not complete the series. The number of shots received was confirmed by electronic medical record review. Content analysis was used to identify themes related to series completion. RESULTS: 65 parents/guardians participated: 37 whose daughters received 1 or 2 doses of HPV vaccine and 28 whose daughters completed 3 doses. Most (n=24, 65%) parents/guardians failed to complete the series because they thought the clinics would remind them of subsequent doses. 9 (24%) cited logistical barriers. 4 (11%) decided to stop the vaccine series. 33 providers participated: 24 physicians, 3 nurse practitioners, and 6 registered nurses. 52% of providers told parents to schedule appointments, 41% scheduled the second dose at the time the first dose was given, and 7% tried to immunize patients when they returned for other appointments; providers confirmed that few parents chose to stop the series. No practice had a system in place to ensure series completion. CONCLUSIONS: Most failure to complete the HPV vaccine series occurred because providers expected parents to make appointments while parents expected to be reminded. Increased use of reminder/recall systems and clear communication of expectations regarding appointment scheduling could improve completion rates

Tobacco Methyl Salicylate Esterase Mediates Nonhost Resistance

Nonhost resistance is a type of broad-spectrum resistance exhibited by a given plant species to most strains of a pathogen which are generally pathogenic to other plant species. In this study, we have examined the role of tobacco SABP2 (Salicylic acid-Binding Protein 2) in nonhost resistance. SABP2, a methyl salicylate esterase is a critical component of SA-signaling pathway in tobacco plants. The transgenic tobacco SABP2-silenced lines treated with tetraFA, a known inhibitor of esterase activity of SABP2 exhibited enhanced susceptibility to nonhost pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola compared to the control plants. The increased accumulation of SABP2 transcripts upon Psp infection supports the involvement of SABP2 in nonhost resistance. The tetra-FA treated plants also showed delayed expression of pathogenesis related-1 gene upon Psp inoculations. The expression of nonhost marker genes CDM1 and HIN1 was also monitored in tobacco plants infected with host-pathogen P.s. pv. tabaci and P.s. pv. phaseolicola. Overall, results presented in this manuscript suggest that SABP2 has a role in nonhost resistance in tobacco plants

Constraints on Stirring and Dissipation of MHD Turbulence in Molecular Clouds

We discuss constraints on the rates of stirring and dissipation of MHD turbulence in molecular clouds. Recent MHD simulations suggest that turbulence in clouds decays rapidly, thus providing a significant source of energy input, particularly if driven at small scales by, for example, bipolar outflows. We quantify the heating rates by combining the linewidth-size relations, which describe global cloud properties, with numerically determined dissipation rates. We argue that, if cloud turbulence is driven on small internal scales, the $^{12}$CO flux (enhanced by emission from weakly supersonic shocks) will be much larger than observed; this, in turn, would imply excitation temperatures significantly above observed values. We reach two conclusions: (1) small-scale driving by bipolar outflows cannot possibly account for cloud support and yield long-lived clouds, unless the published MHD dissipation rates are seriously overestimated; (2) driving on large scales (comparable to the cloud size) is much more viable from an energetic standpoint, and if the actual net dissipation rate is only slightly lower than what current MHD simulations estimate, then the observationally inferred lifetimes and apparent virial equilibrium of molecular clouds can be explained.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. To appear in ApJ (2001 April 10

A computational method for internal radiation dosimetry at the voxel level

The current development of hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT systems allows not only accurate attenuation correction of images, but also provide an anatomical frame for the 3D spatial representation of the dose distribution. The main goal of this thesis project was to develop computational algorithms for calculation of the 3D dose distribution delivered by internal emitters based on the images and information provided by new hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT systems. Although many experimental problems exist in patient-specific dosimetry, current drawback is the lack of radionuclide voxel S values for the set of all possible combinations of cubical and non-cubical pixel edges and thickness used in SPECT and PET studies. This work presents an alternative and computationally efficient method for calculating voxel S values based on the Monte Carlo volume integration of tabulated dose point-kernels of beta emissions over a voxel-to-voxel geometry. The accuracy of the calculations was compared with those determined by direct Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation

ANTICHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY OF OCTA PEPTIDES RELATED TO HUMAN HISTATIN 8: IN-SILICO DRUG DESIGN AND IN-VITRO

Objective: To evaluate the octapeptides related to human histatin 8 by in-silico and in-vitro studies.Method: Schrodinger, LLC and Ellman's method.Results: The compound HH1 and HH2 was found to be potent docking score of −9.494 and −7.401 against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme. The IC50 value of HH1 and HH2 was found to be 0.39±0.28 and 0.78±0.15 μg/mL. However, these compounds are shown to be highly effective as compared with the control AChE inhibitor donepezil (0.065±0.0050 μg/mL).Conclusion: In-silico docking study was conducted for the designed octapeptides related to human histatin 8 against AChE enzyme shows significance binding affinity toward HH1 and HH2 peptides and the AChE inhibitory activity of octapeptides shown to be a highly potent inhibitor as compared with control donepezil